"Improving" according to YOUR opinion. Which is totally okay, everyone can put in suggestions
But stop acting as if the removal of flying mounts would improve anything on an objective scale.

But it is on the objective scale. The more time people spend in the world, the longer they will maintain their subscriptions; this translates to increased revenue for Blizzard, which in turn translates to more and better quality products.

Which is quite idiotic, if you ask me, because
1) they constantly put oil in the fire.
2) They removed every goddamn mob from the outdoor world that was even remotely able to kill you.

I remember back in the day, feeling in real danger when I suddenly strolled into an area filled with elite. Trying to take a few down and dying in the progress, now THAT made the world feel mean and alive. Areas where you don't stand a chance on your own.

But naaah they fill every spot with Mobs you can steamroll in greens and talk about how flying makes the world too safe. looool.

Yeah I don't like how they handled that situation either. IMO they should reintroduce outdoor elite areas.

Agreed. But people want to play MMOs for years. (Blizzard wants that too)
So at some point they need to add convenience.

I think that getting flight once leveling journey is complete feels good and very rewarding. It's a perfect point to give the player convenience.

I agree, which is why I think a better solution to the flight problem would be to improve on its mechanics and flight's overall role in the game.
For one thing, there should be more flying mobs, preferably elites that might hinder air travel. Daily quest areas should have defenses against flying enemies so that players can't drop straight down on their targets. To counterbalance this, all flying mounts should have vehicle mechanics that allow you to evade air attacks and retaliate. There should also be some way of using spells when in a dogfight or when facing anti-flying artillery. In order for the game to have this technical allowance, different types of combat should be implemented. That way, flight combat will function differently than ground combat in that you can't engage enemies that fight ground-style while flying.

Flying could make for compelling gameplay, but as it exists now it's merely a convenience that arguably has a negative net effect on gameplay.

Originally Posted by Callei

I really don't think GC's taking 'sides' from an official standpoint, moreso that he's pointing out that he would have done things differently back in BC if it were his call on a personal basis. He also acknowledges that there's no simple answer in the debate between pro-flying and anti-flying and that it's unlikely they will be totally removed (besides, unlocking flight after a new expansion's level grind provides both a feeling of accomplishment and a nice gold sink)

OK yeah, I agree.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. By keeping more content coming faster, they avoid the number one criticism that's often levied against MMORPGs: a world that grows stagnant between raid content updates.

Right, and I think the pressure that's put on Blizzard can be lessened by elongating certain aspects of gameplay.

I don't have to prove it, it's just common sense. If players have more to do, they have reason to maintain their subscription. A great example of this idea in action is during 4.3, when after several months subs dropped by the millions due to lack of content.

You only need a subscriber feeling he really, really has to log in ONCE A MONTH.

Blizzard's ideal subscriber is some guy who logs in for 60 seconds every 30 days and for whatever reason is happy about it. Anyone who is on longer than that is costing the company money.

The people who are on 80 hours a week, they are NOT the ideal customers.

I don't get the issue, really. Apparently people agree with the fact that exploring at least once is a good thing, yet aside from Cata ( and only later on TBC and WoTLK) you always needed to level on the ground at least once before you could fly, and now in MoP it is the same.

What really IS the problem? It is exactly the way people want it, and you still don't agree with it.

Are you honestly surprised that, based on the above, people come to other conclusions? Conclusions like the infamous "you just want to gank people".

It's kind of pointless to tell someone if they think flying damaged the game then they should stop flying.

You can no more appreciate restricting your own use of flying mounts than you can convince yourself you are with another real person while masturbating.
For as long as someone refuses to acknowledge that certain restrictions are necessary to appreciate a thing it's pointless to talk about this issue with them. People who are poor are statistically more happy and satisfied with their life than the ultra rich. Issues like this are counter intuitive and easy to dismiss out loud as not being real because they are nuanced, and one can always ignore nuance to prove their own point.

Sometimes I think people do not know what they want. They flip flop on whatever suits them at their time of need. Sure people change but Flying Mounts? I still get amazed at how beautiful Pandaria is. Compared to the other zones it's quite...envious. If Azeroth in terms of detail looked like Pandaria I guarentee everyone would be having nerdgasms. Flying Mounts do not hinder my experience. They actually optimize it.

Pandaria is an amazing place and I would want to protect it if it was my own home.

Blizzard do not destroy Jaina Proudmoore's character. Make her who she once was, not full of rage and vengeance.,If you are curious about me or about my writing aspirations, feel free to pst me. Paladin-Sorcerer at your service! My Youtube Channel https://www.youtube.com/user/Aeluron Big fanboy of Yrel now. Love her now

But it is on the objective scale. The more time people spend in the world, the longer they will maintain their subscriptions; this translates to increased revenue for Blizzard, which in turn translates to more and better quality products.

No it wouldn't, if flying were removed I would definitely quit, and if it never had existed i would not have lasted playing this game for so long...

Flying could make for compelling gameplay, but as it exists now it's merely a convenience that arguably has a negative net effect on gameplay.

And convenience is just the point I love it for. I wouldn't mind for extra compelling gameplay, but I wouldn't want it to be that a mob could attack me in mid-air while I'm AFK. because that's my main reason for loving it really, the ability of going afk without having to worry about dying...
(I am on an PVE server ofc if you hadn't guessed yet).

I have a family too and children sometimes require attention that cannot be planned, or I have to answer the doorbell or the phone. That's when I love it that I can mount up, take to the skies a bit and return safely when I have the time...

Kinda find the anti-fly hate funny, but being no flying on this quest hub is no surprise, the BC had the Sunwell area quest hub no flying, LK had the wintergrasp limited flying cata had Tol bard and front no flying, so I'm kinda surprised we didn't have a no fly daily's before this upcoming patch.